APTnovel Chapter 50 Sweet and Sour Pork
Chapter 50 Sweet and Sour Pork
What? Learn martial arts?
Wang Hefan didn't understand why the conversation had suddenly jumped to the topic of him learning martial arts when they were talking about the future.
"Mother, I'm going to learn martial arts? As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be a martial arts school in town. The nearest one is probably in the county." Wang Hefan pointed to himself and asked with a puzzled expression.
“Then let’s go to town. I originally wanted you to learn to read, but you’re too old. I see you running around with your Uncle Cheng, so I was thinking of having you learn martial arts. What, you don’t like it?”
"It's not that I don't like it, it's just..." Wang Hefan was happier than anyone else to have the opportunity to learn martial arts, but he couldn't rest easy thinking about his family.
“No buts. If you like it, then go. Don’t worry about home. Xu Da is here. Besides, your mother isn’t the same as before.” Song Jiaojiao could roughly guess Wang Hefan’s concerns, but it wasn’t really a big deal to her.
Wang Hefan thought about it and realized that his mother was indeed not the same as before. In addition, the family had a workshop, and the villagers would help them more or less. It was true that it didn't matter whether he was there or not.
"Alright then, I'll give it a try after the New Year." Wang Hefan said, scratching his head. He was so happy to be able to learn martial arts after the New Year that he couldn't help but grin like an idiot.
"Madam, Xu Sen doesn't need to go. Let the young master go instead. It will cost a lot of money to have another person," Xu Da said uneasily. He had heard from others in wealthy families that studying or learning martial arts required a lot of money.
"It's alright, Xu Sen will go with them. They can look out for each other." Song Jiaojiao said with a light laugh. Two people are better than one. If one of them is isolated, at least he will have someone to talk to.
Hearing Song Jiaojiao say this, Xu Da didn't say anything, but thought he must tell Xu Sen several times to take good care of the young master and not forget the lady's kindness.
The next morning, Song Jiaojiao saw her aunt bringing people to work right after breakfast. Song Jiaojiao told them to go to the old house next door, explained everything, and then they left. She told them to ask Xu Fang and the others if they didn't understand anything.
Carrying the dried sweet potato starch and green peppers, Song Jiaojiao originally wanted Wang Hefan to go to town with her, but considering it was raining, she decided to have Xu Dalai drive the carriage instead.
Upon arriving in town, we headed straight to Sifanglou Restaurant. Even though it wasn't lunchtime yet, Sifanglou was already incredibly popular.
When Manager Wang saw that it was Song Jiaojiao who had come to deliver the vegetables today, he quickly came out to greet her.
"Congratulations, Manager Wang! May your business prosper!" Song Jiaojiao greeted Manager Wang with a smile.
"Congratulations, congratulations! It's all thanks to Madam Song's recipe. Did you bring the green peppers today?" Manager Wang replied to Song Jiaojiao with a beaming smile.
"Here it is, but these green peppers won't be ready for long."
When Manager Wang heard this, his heart skipped a beat. Green peppers were an indispensable part of the shop, and their sudden loss would definitely have an impact.
"Madam Song, why is she suddenly going to be gone?"
"Look, it's getting colder and colder, so naturally the green peppers won't grow. But..." Song Jiaojiao said helplessly.
Hearing this, Manager Wang felt helpless, but seeing that Song Jiaojiao seemed to have a solution, he impatiently pressed for an answer.
"What's the big deal? Does Madam Song have some new recipe?"
"I don't have a recipe yet, but I brought something new today. Let's see if Manager Wang is willing to give it a try," Song Jiaojiao said mysteriously.
"What are you saying, Madam Song? If I can't trust anyone else, I can trust you, Madam Song. Stop keeping me in suspense and show me what you've got."
"Are you sure you want to stay here, Manager Wang?"
Manager Wang glanced at Song Jiaojiao standing at the door, and noticing that Manager Yuan across the street was looking their way, he quickly invited Song Jiaojiao inside.
Song Jiaojiao asked Xu Da to wait outside, and then went to the kitchen with Manager Wang. It wasn't that he didn't want to invite Song Jiaojiao to a private room, but business was so good that the private rooms had been booked long ago.
Song Jiaojiao looked at the bustling kitchen and saw that even though it wasn't mealtime yet, there were already quite a few people sitting in the dining hall.
Song Jiaojiao stopped being mysterious and said directly to Manager Wang, "Manager Wang, could you lend me the kitchen?"
"Madam Song, this way please." Manager Wang led Song Jiaojiao into the kitchen and made room for her.
Song Jiaojiao didn't waste any more words. She planned to make two dishes: a pork tenderloin soup and sweet and sour pork. She cut the pork tenderloin into two portions. She prepared one portion with seasonings and coated it with sweet potato starch to make the tenderloin soup. She also coated the other portion of pork evenly with fermented sweet potato starch (the kind that's not a Newtonian liquid). She poured oil into a pot, heated it up, and then added the pork slices coated with sweet potato starch. She fried them until golden brown and then removed them. She then heated the oil again and fried them a second time. She set them aside.
Pour oil into the pan again, add scallions, ginger, and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the fried pork belly and stir-fry evenly. Sprinkle with a little sugar before serving. This makes a fragrant, crispy, and slightly sweet pork belly dish. Unfortunately, I didn't have vinegar, so this is the best I could do.
After cleaning the pot, add a large spoonful of water, bring it to a boil over high heat, add the sliced meat, and bring it to a boil again over high heat. The tender and chewy meat soup, suitable for all ages, is now ready.
After Song Jiaojiao finished cooking, she asked Manager Wang to try it.
Shopkeeper Wang first picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork. One bite revealed its incredible crispness, yet the meat inside remained tender and juicy. A touch of sweetness enhanced the flavor. Next, he looked at the smooth pork soup. The snow-white meat, garnished with scallions, looked incredibly appetizing. While not as stunning as the sweet and sour pork, the smooth pork itself was still a pleasant surprise. On a cold day, wouldn't a dish of smooth pork be wonderful?
"Madam Song, I wonder what this white powder you brought is? The meat cooked with it is much more tender and juicy, not dry at all." Manager Wang, being a businessman, saw the crux of the matter at a glance.
"This is the new thing I brought. It's called sweet potato starch. As the name suggests, it's made from sweet potato starch. Only 7 or 8 pounds of starch can be produced from 100 pounds of sweet potatoes!" Song Jiaojiao deliberately understated the yield in order to raise the price.
"I wonder how much Madam Song plans to sell these sweet potato starch noodles?"
"I'll give you those two dishes for free. Sweet potatoes are time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the dishes made from them taste much better. How about this, since we're in a cooperative relationship, you can give me 180 coins per pound for the sweet potato flour." After thinking for a moment, Song Jiaojiao decided to quote a higher price.
When Manager Wang heard Song Jiaojiao's price, he subconsciously frowned. "Madam Song, this price is too high. As far as I know, sweet potatoes in town are only 1 wen per jin. 100 wen can buy 100 jin of sweet potatoes. But you want 180 wen per jin of sweet potato flour. This..." Manager Wang said while observing the changes in Song Jiaojiao's expression.
"Shopkeeper, you may not know this, but the sweet potatoes in town are indeed 1 wen per jin, but they are mixed with dirt and bad ones. The sweet potatoes that can be used to make sweet potato flour must be washed clean, free of bad ones, and dried. I buy them for 3 wen for two jin."
Furthermore, the process of making sweet potato starch is complex, requiring at least ten workers. This necessitates investment in both manpower and resources. And it's not as simple as just making it; turning sweet potatoes into starch takes at least three days per process, even with good weather. If it rains continuously, it takes even longer.